The purpose of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template is to assist Federal contracting officials in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial Electronic and Information Technology products and services with features that support accessibility. It is assumed that offerers will provide additional contact information to facilitate more detailed inquiries.

The first table of the Template provides a summary view of the section 508 Standards. The subsequent tables provide more detailed views of each subsection. There are three columns in each table. Column one of the Summary Table describes the subsections of subparts B and C of the Standards. The second column describes the supporting features of the product or refers you to the corresponding detailed table, “e.g., equivalent facilitation.” The third column contains any additional remarks and explanations regarding the product. In the subsequent tables, the first column contains the lettered paragraphs of the subsections. The second column describes the supporting features of the product with regard to that paragraph. The third column contains any additional remarks and explanations regarding the product.

(a) When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually.

Supports with exceptions

Many user interface controls and functions in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC can be executed via the keyboard with some exceptions including:

List views for accessing and managing files stored in the cloud, including Sent Files, the Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud storage accounts.

Tools involving the positioning and/or manipulation of elements using the mouse including:

Tools that require drag and drop functionality, such as the reordering of pages in the “Organize Pages” tool.

Tools involving mouse selections, such as the Snapshot Tool.

Controls for interacting with PDF Portfolio documents.

User interfaces for the following Document Cloud tools:

Send & Track

Send for Signature

Fill & Sign

(b) Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer.

Supports

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC does not disrupt or disable Windows operating system accessibility features such as filter keys, toggle keys, sticky keys, and the on-screen keyboard.

(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that Assistive Technology can track focus and focus changes.

Supports with exceptions

There is a well-defined visual indication of focus for most of the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC interface with some exceptions, including:

Login with an Adobe ID when email is associated with both a personal and an enterprise account.

List views for accessing and managing files stored in the cloud, including Sent Files, the Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud storage accounts.

User interfaces for the following Document Cloud tools:

Send & Track

Send for Signature

Fill & Sign

With the exception of the application menu and system dialogs, like the preferences panel, assistive technology does not always track focus changes from Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and similarly, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC does not always change the programmatic focus to follow assistive technology.

Focus when interacting with PDF Portfolio documents can behave in unexpected ways.

The Tools pane does not scroll accordion panel headings into view on focus.

In the Tools pane, one cannot move focus into or out of the accordion panes for Export PDF, Create PDF, and Edit PDF without using the mouse.

(d) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element shall be available to Assistive Technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text.

Supports with exceptions

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides identity, operation and state information to Assistive Technology throughout the interface, but has significant exceptions including:

The Search inputs for filtering files or Tools are not sufficiently labeled for assistive technology.

List views for accessing and managing files stored in the cloud, including Sent Files, the Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud storage accounts.

(e) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance.

Supports

(f) Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes.

Supports with exceptions

In most cases Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides text content, caret location and attributes but there are some significant exceptions:

List views for accessing and managing files stored in the cloud, including Sent Files, the Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud accounts are not currently accessible with assistive technology.

List views for accessing and managing files stored in the cloud, including Sent Files, Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud storage accounts.

The Portfolio tool.

The Fill & Sign tool.

User interfaces for the following Document Cloud tools:

Send & Track

Send for Signature

The user can optionally select fixed foreground and background colors for PDF documents.

(h) When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user.

Supports

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC does not use animation.

(i) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.

Supports

(j) When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided.

Supports

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC allows users to choose from a limited selection of preconfigured color and contrast settings and also permits users to create their own foreground and background color combinations using the operating system color palette.

(k) Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

Supports

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC does not use flashing or blinking user interface elements.

(l) When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow people using Assistive Technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

Supports with exceptions

Form controls are exposed to assistive technology in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with some notable exceptions including:

Forms related to accessing and managing files stored in the cloud including Sent Files, the Document Cloud, Creative Cloud and other cloud storage accounts.

Forms contained in user interfaces for the following Document Cloud tools:

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides textual equivalent information for assistive technologies to use when this information is present in the document.

Supports

(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.

Supports

PDF documents can include features such as open captions to provide accessible alternatives to multimedia content.

(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.

Supports

The PDF format supports the use of alternative methods of conveying information, through text as well as color.

(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

Not applicable

The PDF format does not use style sheets.

(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.

Not applicable

The PDF format does not use server-side image maps.

(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.

Not applicable

The PDF format does not use server-side image maps.

(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.

Supports

The PDF format supports the inclusion of row and column headers in data tables and Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides this information for assistive technologies.

(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.

Supports

The PDF format supports the association of data cells with two or more logical levels of row and column headers, and Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides this information for assistive technologies.

(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation

Not applicable

The PDF format does not use frames.

(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

Supports

It is up to document authors to ensure compliance with this requirement.

(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by Assistive Technology.

Supports

The PDF format supports the inclusion of functional text for the information provided by a script. When present, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC will provide this information for assistive technologies.

(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l).

Supports

A page for downloading the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in is permanently available on the Adobe web site. Authors are encouraged to provide a link to this page.

(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using Assistive Technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

Supports with exceptions

There is full keyboard access to form controls with the exception of form controls added using the Fill & Sign tool.

The Fill & Sign tool does not expose role, state, and ‘name’ values for form controls to assistive technology.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC exposes role, state, and ‘name’ values for other form controls to assistive technology when they are present in a PDF document.

a) All analog television displays 13 inches and larger, and computer equipment that includes analog television receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. As soon as practicable, but not later than July 1, 2002, widescreen digital television (DTV) displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens, and computer equipment that includes DTV receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals.

Not applicable

(b) Television tuners, including tuner cards for use in computers, shall be equipped with secondary audio program playback circuitry.

Not applicable

(c) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be open or closed captioned.

Supports

The PDF format is capable of displaying multimedia equivalents that are part of an embedded media player's accessibility feature set.

The PDF format supports synchronized captions in embedded videos supported by Adobe Flash Player, using the controls in the Flash object.

(d) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be audio described.

Supports

The PDF format supports audio descriptions that are part of an embedded media player's accessibility feature set.

(a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided.

Supports with exceptions

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC provides support for users of screen readers and screen magnifiers with some exceptions as detailed in 1194.21.

(b) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require visual acuity greater than 20/70 shall be provided in audio and enlarged print output working together or independently, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are visually impaired shall be provided.

Supports

(c) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user hearing shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be provided

Supports

(d) Where audio information is important for the use of a product, at least one mode of operation and information retrieval shall be provided in an enhanced auditory fashion, or support for assistive hearing devices shall be provided.

Supports

(e) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user speech shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people with disabilities shall be provided.

Supports

(f) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous actions and that is operable with limited reach and strength shall be provided.

Supports with exceptions

Keyboard access is supported for the majority of commands and tools in the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC interface with some exceptions as detailed in 1194.21.